In three weeks, another free voice in Europe, Presseurop, is scheduled to close down. Their contract with the European Commission, which finances the website, ends on December 22 and has informed editors that it does not intend to continue the project, citing budgetary reasons.
This is despite the European Parliament voting for an increase in the EU’s 2014 budget so that the Commission would have additional resources to finance media projects, including Presseurop. The Commission apparently prefers to use the funds for other initiatives. Deprived of this funding, they will be forced to close down.

Since it was launched, at the Commission’s initiative in 2009, Presseurop has earned itself a reputation as a leading independent European Union news website. Each day, readers can find the best of the European and international press translated into 10 languages. For the newspapers and for the journalists, intellectuals and experts – more than 1,700 to date – whose articles we have published, Presseurop is a way to reach audiences beyond their linguistic borders.

We deeply regret that just a few months ahead of European elections that will be crucial for the future of the EU and despite being greatly valued by readers, European affairs experts and journalists, the European Commission wants to halt this experiment.